Facebook Downvote Button in Testing Lets Users Flag Comments

The feature sounds similar to a "dislike" button, which is one of the most popular feature requests among Facebookers, but it's actually quite different.

The report suggests that when the "downvote" button is clicked, the comment is hidden from their feed. Now, however, Facebook is testing a downvote button among a subset of users.

But it now appearsFacebook is seriously considering introducing a new way for users to provide feedback on comments. Well, unlike Reddit, where users can downvote posts as well as comments, the Downvote button on Facebook only lets users downvote comments.

The new feature is being tested for a small number of users in the U.S., alongside a number of other measures aimed at improving Facebook's community, in particular public pages which share content with followers. Selecting one does not affect the post's ranking and the number of downvotes are not displayed; it's now only a way to let Facebook know about an inappropriate post by flagging it.

But the new downvote button is the closest Facebook has come to actually giving people a dislike button.

A downvote button sure sounds like a dislike button, which people have been wanting for years and they clarified that with a statement. Could it possibly end up in the role of a dislike button, despite the company's intentions?

That has shifted the balance "away from the most important thing Facebook can do - help us connect with each other". Share in comments with us about your opinion on the "downvote" option. "That doesn't seem like the kind of community we want to create", he said in 2015.

How the downvote button looks on mobile.

The number of downvotes on a particular comment will not be visible, and they wil end up hiding the comment for the user who chose to downvote it.

And yet, according to a thread on Reddit spotted by The Daily Beast reporter Taylor Lorenz, a version of that button has made its way into some users accounts.